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Monday, January 5, 2009

Busy Book for Busy Hands

I created this book (almost completely from scraps!) for my son to use during church meetings and tried it out for the first time this Sunday. It worked great! It kept him happy and quiet for about 30 minutes! That's about 5 times longer then anything eles I've tried:)I wanted it to keep him entertained but I also wanted it to educate him. I'll go through each page and tell you how I tried to do that.

The Cover

The first page is a shape matching game. I sewed the outline of each shape and then made felt shapes to match. The little pocket is to hold the shapes.

The second page was Caden's(my oldest) favorite. All of the animals at the top are also "hiding" in the "grass". Caden loved running his fingers through it to find the animals and we practiced matching colors.

The third page is buttoning flowers. This is the only idea that is not of my own little mind! I saw it at church one day and stored it in my memory bank for later. The flower pot is a pocket and the flowers all have buttons or button hole. The children has to match up the flowers to the correct color and then button them.

The forth page is a lift the flap counting game. Every flap as something fun to count. The crayon were Caden's favorite!

The fifth and sixth page were a huge hit! This is a great page to practice those fine motor skills! They are all pretty self explanatory but I will tell you that the little pocket has a tiny set of keys in it:)

Page seven is a counting page. The vehicles are beads on pipe cleaners so the child can slide them as they count.

Finally page eight is a magnet board with shapes that stick and little idea cards. A little beyond Caden right now but I wanted him to be able to grow into this book!

And that's all of it. So many people have told me that I should make these and sell them but I'm not sure if the demand would be out there. I do know that I have learned a lot while making this book and making future ones would be much easier.

38 comments:

Hey! I love this book you made. Thanks for sending me the link to your blog (you commented with it on my homemade montessori blog) I've been meaning to make my 2 1/2 year old one of these. I really need to make us curtains to block out the cold though. Maybe I'll be able to get it done before her birthday in march. It's nice to see other people's ideas.

You HAVE to write details about this!! It is amazing and all of us would probably love to make one. What materials did you use where? How did you attach them? Where did you get some of the dohickeys? How did you do the animals in the grass? It is INCREDIBLE!!

Wonderful! You've managed to fill each page with great learning activities. I am going to try to make one for my 18 mos. old. If and when I get it done I will let you know and link to your site. Thanks, Mama King4crazykings.blogspot.com

This is really cool and creative! I am a pre-k teacher and think that this would be a great addition to the classroom. If you make them to sell you should at least sell directions/kit for others to make.

Did you just sew the pipe cleaners on there? Such great ideas. I would love to learn what you did please share any thoughts on making one. My son is turning 3 in two weeks and I am going to try and bust one out for him. That is just too cool!

This is wonderful. I am a minister and am trying to come up with things for young children to do during worship. These would be wonderful to have in the sanctuary for children to use as they take part in worship. Maybe I could even make some more Bible oriented (the animals in the grass could be animals on the ark for example). Thanks for such a great idea. Oh-and I definitely think there would be a market for these.

I think what you have done is wonderful! It also goes to show that a little imagination can go a long way! I love how you included lots of colour in the book as well as activities that involve fine motor skills. I am always looking for something to keep my little guys quiet during our church service - thanks for the ideas!

I'm so impressed! This is fantastic. Would you consider doing a little tutorial to show us how to get started? I'm sure it isn't as easy as it looks! :) I'd love to know how you sewed the pages together. Thanks for sharing this precious idea!

What a wonderful, wonderful busy book! I have can't wait to read your tips on how to create! I'm so glad I found your blog as I've found so many ideas to keep my 2 year old son busy while learning. Thanks

So beautiful! I made one some 28 years ago for my first son, but now I have my first grandson and want to do it again. I just can't give up that original book. He has to have his very own! I love your ideas and might incorporate some in my new book! Hey, I should put my book on a blog so others can see it, too! Great idea!

Fantastic work, I came across this while looking to see if anyone sold busy books. I had one as a little girl to entertain me at bible meetings also and now want one for my kids- I don't know if I have the talent or patience to make it myself but looking at your pics, I may just have to give it a go.

So beautiful! I made a some twenty-eight years ago for my first son, but now I have my first grandson, want to do it again. I just can't give up, the original book. He has his! I love you and may contain some of the ideas in my new book! Hey, should I put my book on a blog, so people can see it, too! Good idea!

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I am a stay at home mom of four boys and a little girl ages 2-7. I also teach Preschool from my home. I am currently Homeschooling my 6 and 7 year old and the other kiddos are just having fun with preschool stuff! My blog is called "Little Hands, Big Work" because every time a little hand starts playing they are really learning and working. Playing becomes learning and learning becomes growing, and isn't that what life is all about? I plan to post about activities, food, organization, parenting tips and more for preschool and some homeschooling stuff for 1st to 3rd graders.

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